Time Out – It’s Not Just For Toddlers

Mad world
Image by alles-schlumpf via Flickr

We all know what giving a child a time out is, but did you know it is also one of the best things you can give yourself?

When you place a child in time out you have them stop what they are doing, usually go sit or stand someplace (the nearest corner usually works) and ask them to think about what they did.  The child thinks about what they did wrong, it gets them to calm down and usually after it is done them behavior better.

How many times have you felt overwhelmed with work, drowning in tasks and stressed beyond belief?  If your like most, this is getting to be more the norm than the exception.  Now what if you placed yourself in a timeout.  What would happen?

Placing yourself in time out gives you an opportunity to reflect on everything that is going on.  If gives you a chance to take a deep breath, relax and re-energize.  It could be a two minutes or 20 minutes.  Done each day it will help you to focus on what needs to get done and if you want to expand it, it can give you dedicated time each day to complete work.

Try it for 30 days and you will be amazed at how much more relaxed your are and the amount of work you have completed.